Responsive cohesion in the art and artfulness of urban design: some case studies in Helsinki

Abstract

The term ‘responsive cohesion’ combines the adjective ‘responsive’ (reacting, receptive, answering, sensitive) with the noun ‘cohesion’ (forming a unit, holding together). The paper first describes the character of responsive cohesion and examines its relation to the literature on preferences in urban aesthetics. The body of the paper critically examines how responsive cohesion is evident in five urban sites in the city of Helsinki, Finland. These sites range from mixed-use developments to individual buildings inserted into the urban fabric. The paper shows how a quality of responsive cohesion crosses boundaries of aesthetic value, functional value and ethics.